CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The way DeAngelo Williams sees it, the credit for his breakout season with the Carolina Panthers goes to a 45-year-old guy in Florida.

Williams thinks he now spends his days in Tampa doing impersonations of Al Bundy from "Married with Children," sitting on his couch, a cold beverage in his hand.

This guy would be Vinny Testaverde, the once ageless quarterback who, before finally retiring at the end of last season, sat down the young running back and gave some wise, fatherly advice.

"I think he's probably impacted my season the most this year than anybody because of the conversation that we had before he left," Williams said Wednesday.

After serving as a backup for his first two seasons in the NFL, Williams has become one of the top backs in the league. The 25-year-old Williams has rushed for 1,229 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 5.5-yard average per carry is the best of any back in the league with at least 100 carries.

Behind their renewed running game with Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers are 11-3 and play the New York Giants on Sunday with the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs on the line.

And while Williams teased Testaverde for his supposed easygoing lifestyle in retirement, Williams believes their talk about commitment and work ethic at the end of last season is the reason Williams has gone from a backup to somebody his teammates feel should have been selected to the Pro Bowl.

"We had a lengthy conversation and everything he said to me made perfect sense," said Williams, Carolina's first-round pick in 2006. "From the film room down to work ethic and everything of that nature. He really left me with some things that really touched me and stayed on my heart, as you can tell from this season."

Williams wouldn't reveal the exact details of the talk, and Testaverde couldn't be reached on Wednesday. But quarterback Jake Delhomme believes Williams has benefited greatly from the advice of the 21-year veteran who was well known for being in top condition and well prepared for every game.

"Last year, Vinny talked to DeAngelo about that, about, 'Hey, when you practice, run. Finish runs,'" Delhomme said. "Because Vinny had all those years and knew how to prepare. He was a tireless worker. He prepared extremely hard. I thought it was great that Vinny did that, because obviously, he saw something in DeAngelo."

This year after every running play at practice, Williams runs all the way to the end zone, no matter where on the field the play started from. Williams acknowledged he worked harder in the offseason and is in better condition. He's stronger, too, which has made him harder to tackle.

"Physically I thought he really, really worked hard in every area from endurance to speed training to strength," coach John Fox said.

Williams, Carolina's first-round pick in 2006, is still a jokester with a bubbling personality. But he's now one of the hardest workers in the weight and film rooms, too.

"I know where guys are on the field now," Williams said. "Last year and the year before, when guys dove at my legs, I didn't really know to anticipate that or try to counter that. Now it's just happening instinctive for me. I look at film sometimes and I wonder what I was thinking when I did that. It's just kind of instinctive. I know I have a feel for the game."

Williams is also more comfortable in second-year offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson's system. Williams rushed for 717 yards in an inconsistent 2007 as the No. 2 back behind DeShaun Foster.

"When Jeff got here two years ago we weren't really comfortable in his offense," Williams said. "It was kind of different for us. We were trying to get a feeling for it and then Jake goes down. He's our captain, our leader, our field general.

"We kind of did the switcheroo with the quarterback situation and going through those things. Not making excuses, but it was a little difficult for us to have our offense going and having the quarterbacks come in and out."

The rash of QB injuries was the reason Testaverde was lured from his couch on Long Island last season. He started — and Carolina beat Arizona — four days after he signed. It was after that game that Williams became friendly with him. Just before Testaverde retired and moved to Florida, he took Williams aside for a chat that helped jump-start his career.

"It made me think about some things," Williams said. "After that I sat down and had a long talk with myself ... but it made perfect sense. That's primarily the reason I'm having the season that I'm having this year. Hopefully I can carry it on to seasons to come."

(ap.com)

Former New York Jet Vinny Testaverde has slashed the asking price on his Oyster Bay Cove home to $4.6 million. The quarterback put the 13,000-square-foot mansion on the market in October 2007 for $6.995 million and has lowered the price at least twice.

It's now co-brokered by Lynda Baker Realty Corp. in Hicksville and Century 21 Prevete Real Estate in Plainview. Elaine Lovaglio of Lynda Baker Realty calls the mansion an "absolutely beautiful family home." One of her favorite features, she says, is a lap pool that leads to a 20-foot waterfall, then into another gunite pool with a hot tub.

The center- hall Colonial has six bedrooms and 7½ baths on four acres. Testaverde and wife, Mitzi, now live in a home in Hillsborough County, Fla., they bought in 2007 for $4.5 million.

(newsday.com)

KEYSTONE - The Environmental Protection Commission has cited former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Vinny Testaverde for ripping out mature cypress trees from the shoreline of his Lake Keystone home.

The trees were in protected wetlands, the county said.

"Three or four weeks ago I was getting all these calls from people who saw the trees being ripped up right on the shoreline," said Keystone resident Jim Swain, president of the Lake Keystone Property Owners Association.

He said Testaverde removed between 40 and 50 trees altogether.

Testaverde has been ordered by the EPC to replace 20 of those trees, some as tall as 40 feet.

"We sent an inspector to the site and some of the trees were removed from wetlands," said Bob Owens, a supervisor with the EPC. He said complaints from neighbors began coming into the department April 22.

On April 24, Bill Inch, environmental scientist for the county, visited the property and cited Testaverde for violations of the wetlands division code.

By April 30, Testaverde called Inch and told him all tree removal had stopped. He asked if the already-cut debris could be removed from the property. Inch said it could.

A third visit on May 1 documented 19 cypress tress and one dahoon holly tree removed from protected wetlands on the shoreline.
No Fines Assessed

In a certified letter dated May 13, Testaverde was ordered to plant 40, 15-gallon palm cypress or bulb cypress trees in the wetland area within 30 days.

The letter also required "100-percent survival of the trees one year after planting."

Tallahassee-based attorney Clayton Studstill, representing Testaverde in the discussions, acknowledged receipt of the letter four days later and asked whether fewer trees could be planted if they were larger.

The EPC told them they could instead plant 20, 30-gallon trees (a gallon is the measured unit of soil and root ball in the container of a planted tree), along with "beneficial herbaceous planting on the shoreline."

Studstill said the replanting was finished two weeks ago.

"The site has been replanted at the same density of trees and the site condition has been returned to its native state," he said.
Studstill would not say which tree-removal service worked on the property, but said he was certain Testaverde had hired someone to do the work.

"He was not aware of the EPC rules," he said. "You've got to rely on the advice of these people. Whoever cut down the trees didn't do a very good job of informing him."

No fines will be assessed to Testaverde as long as he continues to comply with the citation, said Debbie Sinko, general manager with the county's wetlands division.

Resident Isn't Happy
Swain isn't completely satisfied with the outcome.

"It doesn't replace what was there," he said. "The damage is done. We're talking about a massive cutting."

Testaverde, who could not be reached for comment, made the county's most expensive home purchase of the year for 2007 when he bought the 7,090-square-foot, 3-acre lakeside estate in August for $4.5 million.

The gated home at 17120 Gunn Highway features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, an eight-car garage and a three-story elevator.

(tbo.com)